Related

The national executive council meeting of the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA), held at Grange Hill Hotel, Mpape, Abuja, has resolved its commitment to purposeful administration in the pursuit and protection of the interest of all creative writers in the country. This would be done in an effort to uphold the objectives, vision and mission of the association as outlined in its constitution.

In a communiqué signed by the president, Mallam Denja Abdullahi and the general secretary, Dr. Ofonime Inyang, leadership of the foremost writers’ body, reaffirmed its commitment to the development of the association’s land at Mpape, Abuja, to create a modern Writers Village and creative hub. Already, the project has witnessed rapid progress towards the completion of a mini-national secretariat as well as ongoing construction work on various facilities earmarked for the Mamman Vatsa Writers’ Village.

The association also stated that its 37th International Annual Convention, with the theme ‘Literature: Mega-cities and Mega-narratives’ will hold from October 25 – 28 and will be hosted in Lagos, as the state chapter won the provisional bid at the last convention held in Makurdi, Benue State. It, however, awaits final ratification in April 2018.

The executive council has renewed the call to all chapters to support the ongoing digital membership database development by registering members on the portal provided on the association’s website, as well as fill and return the membership forms with relevant information to the national secretariat.

The statement reads in part: “The Association shall continue to explore various programmes and projects within the administrative year and as contained in the Association’s Strategic Plan (2017-2022) in the form of workshops, facilitated mentoring and external collaborations geared towards honing the skills of young and emergent writers as well as further capacity development for established writers.

The association called on members to continue to employ the instrumentality of their writings and creative endowments to promote peace, harmony and mutual coexistence in the country in line with the associations’ philosophy of supporting Nigeria’s emergence as an egalitarian society, safe for all and vibrantly accommodating of others opinions and noble pursuits.

It noted that creative writing and literary production should begin to receive more attention from both the public and private sectors of the economy, as a viable partner in the ongoing strides to diversify the nation’s economy. The association observed that the present exclusion of the literary sector from government’s discourse and support projections for the creative industry calls for urgent redress to enable a wholesome development of the creative industry.

The association also expressed shock at the state of insecurity, violence and criminality that has resulted in the wanton destruction of the precious lives of Nigerians in various parts of the country, notably in Benue, Taraba, Zamfara and Kaduna States, as well the North Central and the South-South geopolitical zones of the country. It condemned these nefarious acts and called on government at all levels to investigate these killings, identify the perpetrators and make them to face the wrath of the law.